Disc of the Day 10th Anniversary: the level playing field

DISC OF THE DAY 10TH ANNIVERSARY The level playing field

Ten years of record reviews show how sometimes deranged variety works in our (and the records') favour

Theartsdesk is a labour of love. Bloody-mindedly run as a co-operative of journalists from the beginning, our obsession with maintaining a daily-updated platform for good culture writing has caused a good few grey and lost hairs over the years. But it has also been rewarding – and looking back over the 10 years of Disc of the Day reviews has been a good chance to remind ourselves of that. 

Disc of the Day Celebrates 10 Years of Album Reviews

DISC OF THE DAY - 10 A significant birthday for theartsdesk's daily music reviews section

Theartsdesk's daily music reviews section reaches a significant birthday

Ten years ago yesterday, on Monday 14th February 2011, one of theartsdesk’s writers, Joe Muggs, reviewed an album called Paranormale Aktivitat, by an outfit called Zwischenwelt. It was the first ever Disc of the Day, a new slot inserted into theartsdesk’s front page design, where it still resides today.

Album: slowthai - TYRON

★★★ SLOWTHAI - TYRON Midlands MC musters juicy moments on hit'n'miss second album

Midlands MC musters juicy moments on hit'n'miss second album

Slowthai’s debut Nothing Great About Britain was both strikingly intimate and anarchic. He rapped about his childhood and British inequality over grime beats that sounded as if they were falling apart around him. Here "abrasive" and "insightful" coexisted within the same songs effortlessly.

On TYRON, slowthai divides these two attributes, splitting the album into a raucous first half and a sombre second. The caps lock is used to hammer home this overarching theme of dualism.

Living Newspaper: A Counter Narrative, Royal Court online review – the news, but better

★★★★ LIVING NEWSPAPER: A COUNTER NARRATIVE, ROYAL COURT The news, but better 

The Royal Court’s experimental piece is political theatre at its finest and fiercest

Edition 2 of Living Newspaper: A Counter Narrative, an experimental new piece of online theatre from the Royal Court, doesn’t mess around. Within minutes, a cry of "Tory scum" is echoing around the Jerwood Theatre – the refrain of an anarchic musical number presided over by a mannequin painted blue, wearing a shaggy blond wig.

Album: The Streets - None of Us Are Getting Out of This Life Alive

★★★★ THE STREETS - NONE OF US ARE GETTING OUT OF THIS ALIVE Casually pulled together mixtape turns out to be some of Mike Skinner's finest work

A casually pulled together "mixtape" turns out to be some of Mike Skinner's finest work

Given the collaborator list on this album, it should be a bit of a mess. Brit punks IDLES, Aussie woozy pop auteur Tame Impala, pumping bassline house producer Chris Lorenzo turning his hand to drum’n’bass, as well as Ms Banks, Dapz On The Map, Oscar #Worldpeace and a host of other UK rap talents all add their distinct musical personalities to the mix.

Album: Footsie - No Favours

★★★★ FOOTSIE - NO FAVOURS The grime mainstay's first album is here

It's only taken two decades but the grime mainstay's first album is here

Footsie might not have the profile of a Skepta or Wiley, or even his Newham Generals partner and recent IKEA advert soundtracker D Double E. But anyone halfway schooled in grime will know that both as MC and producer he's a key player from grime's original generation, and still a pillar of the scene. Amazingly, though, despite the fact he's released a couple of mixtapes and four compilations of his instrumentals, he's never made an official solo album until now. So given that, since his beginnings in N.A.S.T.Y.

Kate Tempest, BBC 6 Music Festival review - more personal than political

A resonant evening of eloquent and grimy spoken word

For those wondering if performance poet Kate Tempest would be upstaged or introduced by either pandemic panic or International Women’s Day – know that a) she’s fearless and b) she practices equality always. As such, there’s no pre-amble, other than a hope that her gig will “resonate into the night and the days to come”.